Offshore Wind is our Future

Beitrag von WAB-Geschäftsführer Andreas Wellbrock

Even though I have decided to take on a new task outside the WAB, I am firmly convinced of the future of renewable energies and offshore wind energy in particular. Over the past three years, I have enjoyed working and fighting for our common goals. I would like to thank all members for the very good and intensive cooperation through which we have repeatedly succeeded in attracting public attention to our concerns.

A broad public will also be necessary in the future, because despite all the success we have achieved so far, we are still at the very beginning of the cross-generational transformation process. The current situation is paradoxical: On the one hand, renewable energies, especially offshore wind, are developing into a global megatrend. At the same time, we in Germany - the nucleus of the energy revolution - are in a strong consolidation phase. Germany has lost its courage and the expansion targets for renewable energies have been sharply reduced. In the case of offshore wind energy, only 15 GW remained of the original 25 GW by 2030.

The pioneers and companies of the offshore industry have made the energy turnaround possible. They have relied on our federal government, invested in the construction of production facilities, advanced the development of technology and trained and qualified specialists. Today they are abandoned by politicians!
Numerous jobs created by them have already been lost or will not be safeguarded in the future. With every employee who has to reorient himself, the industry loses valuable know-how and experience. The hard-earned competence in offshore wind energy is an essential advantage in the growing international competition that must be maintained. From my point of view, there must be an immediate change of direction in order to continue the success story of offshore wind energy and to create and secure sustainable jobs in a global market.

In the electricity sector, we have already achieved a great deal with a 40 percent share of renewable energies. But in the transport, heating and industrial sectors we are already emitting more CO2 than in the past. Here, too, something urgently needs to be done to reduce these emissions significantly and sustainably.
With electrification and sector coupling, the energy sources oil, natural gas and coal are to be replaced. This also includes the production of "green hydrogen" for drives with fuel cells or the production of e-fuels.

However, the electrification of the sectors is creating a very large demand for energy. This demand is also to be met by renewable energies in the future. As a consequence, this means that within the framework of the energy turnaround not only our current conventional and nuclear power plant capacities will have to be replaced, but that we will also need much higher generation capacities in order to meet these additional requirements. Sector coupling and hydrogen technology are the next big thing for the energy industry. The new developments in particular will make a much greater expansion of offshore wind energy indispensable. This makes me extremely confident that the next boom in offshore wind energy will come in Germany very soon.

Best Regards, Andreas Wellbrock